JP2010154853A - Method and apparatus for producing confectionery - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and apparatus for producing confectionery by impregnating potato chips with tempering chocolate, which makes high quality confectionery equal to the one made by a conventional method and apparatus, and at the same time is excellent in production efficiency compared to a conventional method and apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: In the method and apparatus for producing the confectionery by impregnating potato chips with tempering chocolate, firstly, while deairing only potato chips under reduced pressure of pressure P1 (0.051 MPa≤P1≤0.1 MPa), the deaired potato chips are impregnated with liquid tempering chocolate, and pouring air, N<SB>2</SB>, CO<SB>2</SB>, or mixed gas of either of them into a vacuum impregnation device 5 so as to put into a condition of pressure P2 (0.01 MPa<P2≤0.5 MPa) so as to impregnate the potato chips with tempering chocolate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a confectionery in which tempering chocolate is soaked in potato chips and an apparatus therefor.

  Conventionally, for example, various methods for producing confectionery in which a permeable food material is soaked in a confectionery food material such as rice confectionery food material have been proposed. For example, in Patent Document 1, chocolate melted in liquid and croutons adjusted to the same temperature as chocolate are put in a decompression device and mixed by stirring, and the inside of the decompression device is decompressed to a predetermined pressure to cause bubbles in the croutons and chocolate. A method for producing a chocolate permeation crouton in which chocolate is permeated into croutons by returning the inside of the decompression device to normal pressure after discharging the crucible is disclosed.

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses that a bubble-containing food material such as baked confectionery is buried in a permeable food material such as chocolate dissolved in a liquid, and the bubble-containing food material is deaerated by reducing the pressure in this state. A method for producing a confectionery is disclosed in which an air-permeable food material is impregnated with a permeable food material by returning to pressure.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-308431 International Publication No. WO79 / 47207

  The manufacturing method described above can effectively penetrate the osmotic foodstuff into the foodstuff, and can make an impregnated confectionery having excellent texture, taste, continuous food, and appearance. However, all of these manufacturing methods perform decompression and deaeration treatment in a state where the food is buried in the permeable food, so that it takes time for the bubbles contained in the food to completely escape. Therefore, there was room for improvement in terms of manufacturing efficiency. Incidentally, as described in Patent Document 1, in the case of these production methods, it takes about 10 to 15 minutes for the decompression and deaeration treatment.

  In addition, the bubbles released from the food material float up while expanding in the liquid permeable food material, and are crushed and crushed on the surface of the permeable food material, so that the liquid permeable food material is foamed. For this reason, it is impossible to shift to the next process until the deaeration process is completely completed and a stationary state without foaming is reached, which is one of the factors that reduce the production efficiency.

  The present invention is an improvement of the disadvantages of the above-mentioned conventional method, and can produce a high-quality confectionery equivalent to the conventional one, and at the same time has excellent production efficiency compared to the conventional one, and tempering chocolate with potato chips It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for producing a confectionery soaked with savory.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following technical means.
That is, the invention described in claim 1 is a method for producing a confectionery in which tempering chocolate is soaked in potato chips. First, only potato chips are placed in a vacuum infiltration device and pressure P1 (0.051 MPa ≦ P1 ≦ While evacuating under a reduced pressure of 0.1 MPa), the potato chips were immersed in a liquid tempering chocolate under the deaerated state, and then gas was injected into the vacuum infiltration device to generate a pressure P2 (0. The potato chips are impregnated with the tempering chocolate in a state of 01 MPa <P2 ≦ 0.5 MPa). The invention described in claim 2 is the confectionery manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the gas is air, N _2, CO _2, or a mixed gas thereof.

Further, the invention of claim 3 is a confectionery manufacturing apparatus in which tempering chocolate is soaked in potato chips, the potato chip supplying means, the tempering chocolate supplying means, and the pressure P1 (0.051 MPa ≦ P1 ≦ 0). 0.1 MPa), a vacuum infiltration device having a decompression chamber, and a gas tank connected to the vacuum infiltration device and filled with air, N _2, CO _2, or any of these mixed gases, While the potato chips introduced from the potato chip supply means into the vacuum chamber is depressurized and degassed to a pressure P1 (0.051 MPa ≦ P1 ≦ 0.1 MPa), tempering chocolate is supplied into the vacuum infiltration device and removed. After immersing the potato chips in the air state in the tempering chocolate, the reduced pressure The air, and the state of the pressure P2 (0.01MPa <P2 ≦ 0.5MPa) by implanting _{N 2} or CO _2, or any of these mixed gases, impregnated the tempering chocolate to the potato chips confection within It is characterized by manufacturing.

  In the case of the above configuration, first, only the potato chips are first degassed under reduced pressure, so that excess gas such as air contained in the potato chips can be degassed very quickly. In particular, since the pressure is not extremely lowered, the processing time for depressurization and deaeration can be shortened, and the production efficiency can be increased accordingly. Incidentally, in the case of the conventional manufacturing method, as described above, it took about 10 to 15 minutes for the depressurization / deaeration process, but according to the present invention, the same process is completed in about 3 to 4 minutes. be able to. Further, since the degree of decompression and deaeration is reduced, the decompression device, for example, a vacuum pump can be downsized.

  As described above, it is possible to produce a high-quality confectionery equivalent to the conventional one, and at the same time, a method for producing a confectionery in which tempering chocolate is impregnated with potato chips, which is superior in production efficiency compared to the conventional one, and its An apparatus can be provided.

It is a system configuration figure showing one embodiment of the confectionery manufacturing device concerning the present invention constituted by applying the method of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a confectionery manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention configured by applying the method of the present invention. This embodiment shows an example of manufacturing a confectionery in which tempering chocolate is soaked in potato chips.

  In the figure, 1 is a potato chip feeder for supplying potato chips 2, 3 is a tempering chocolate tank, 4 is a tempering chocolate sub-tank, and 5 is a vacuum infiltration device provided with a decompression chamber 6. The tempering chocolate tank 3 and the tempering chocolate sub-tank 4 are provided with a heating device (not shown) using hot water, steam, etc., and the tempering chocolate is melted by this heating device and accommodated in a molten state, and tempering. The tempering chocolate in the melt state can be freely fed to the tempering chocolate sub-tank 4 by a feeding pump 7 attached to the chocolate tank 3.

The vacuum infiltration device 5 can freely control the pressure in the decompression chamber 6 by a negative pressure pump (not shown) or the like, and melted tempering chocolate from a tempering chocolate supply port 9 provided on the lower side of the decompression chamber. Is supplied from the tempering chocolate sub-tank 4 along with the negative pressure in the decompression chamber 6. Further, a recovery pump 10 is attached to the lower bottom portion of the vacuum infiltration device 5 so that excess tempering chocolate remaining after the tempering chocolate permeation processing into the potato chips can be recovered and returned to the sub tank 4. Has been. In addition, a gas tank 20 is connected to the vacuum infiltration device 5, and gas can be supplied into the decompression chamber 6. The gas filled in the gas tank 20 may be pressurized air, nitrogen gas (N ₂ ) or carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ), or a mixed gas of these.

  A centrifuge is installed in the vacuum infiltration device 5 to wipe off excess tempering chocolate adhering to the potato chips. On the rear side of the vacuum infiltration device 5, there is a shaking device 11 for further removing excess tempering chocolate adhering to the potato chips, and further on the rear side of the shaking device 11 tempering chocolate. A cooling device 12 for cooling the infused potato chips is arranged.

  The shaking device 11 includes, for example, a vibratory conveyor 13 and an air blower 14. The shaker 11 applies vibration to the potato chips by the vibratory conveyor 13 and blows high-pressure air at a predetermined temperature from the air blower 14. The excess tempering chocolate adhering to is shaken off and collected by a collection tank 15 installed at the bottom. The recovered tempering chocolate is sent to the tempering chocolate sub-tank 4 by the recovery pump 16 and reused.

  The cooling device 12 is a cooling mechanism for cooling and solidifying the tempering chocolate that has penetrated and adhered to the potato chips, and includes a cooling chamber 17 and a belt conveyor 18 passing through the cooling chamber 17. In the cooling chamber 17, a known water-cooling or air-cooling type cooling mechanism (not shown) is provided, and the cooling process is completed while passing through the cooling chamber 17.

  To make potato chips soaked with tempering chocolate using the above apparatus, the following steps are taken. First, a basket 19 for storing potato chips made of wire mesh or the like is prepared, and a predetermined number of potato chips 2 are put into the basket 19 from the potato chip feeder 1 and placed side by side at predetermined intervals.

  Then, the basket 19 in which the potato chips 2 are put is carried to the vacuum infiltration device 5, the lid of the decompression chamber 6 is opened, and the basket 19 is set in the decompression chamber 6. The above processing may be performed automatically using a conveyor or a pickup mechanism, or may be performed manually.

  After setting the basket 19 containing the potato chips 2 in the decompression chamber 6, the lid of the decompression chamber 6 is closed, and a negative pressure pump (not shown) is operated to evacuate the air in the decompression chamber 6. The pressure P1 is reduced to a range of 0.051 MPa ≦ P1 ≦ 0.1 MPa. The pressure P1 is set according to the type of potato chips, the water content, and the ratio of bubbles.

  As the pressure in the decompression chamber 6 decreases, the air entering the internal space of the potato chips 2 placed in the basket 19 is sucked out. At this time, in the present invention, only the potato chips are put in the decompression chamber 6 and are not buried in the viscous tempering chocolate as in the prior art, so the air entering the internal space of the potato chips 2 is extremely It is quickly degassed. For this reason, the deaeration of the potato chips is almost completed while the inside of the decompression chamber 6 is decompressed to a predetermined negative pressure state, and the time required for the decompression / deaeration process can be greatly shortened.

  When the decompression of the decompression chamber 6 and the deaeration of the potato chips 2 are completed as described above, the negative pressure pump is stopped and the interior of the decompression chamber 6 is maintained in the decompressed state. In this state, the molten tempering chocolate is fed from the tempering chocolate sub-tank 4 into the decompression chamber 6 from the tempering chocolate supply port 9 of the vacuum infiltration device 5, and the potato chips 2 in the deaerated state are fed to the molten tempering chocolate. The potato chips 2 are immersed in the tempering chocolate.

When the potato chips 2 in the deaerated state are immersed in a melted tempering chocolate, and the pressure is adjusted by injecting gas (air, N ₂ or CO ₂ or a mixed gas thereof) into the decompression chamber 6, The melted tempering chocolate quickly penetrates into the internal space of the potato chips 2, so that the tempering chocolate can be uniformly and effectively soaked into the potato chips 2. At this time, since the potato chips have already been degassed, the degassed air becomes bubbles and rises in the tempering chocolate as in the conventional case, and the tempering chocolate surface pops and foams, There is no such thing.

When the tempering chocolate has been infiltrated into the potato chips, the vacuum pump is stopped and, for example, nitrogen gas N ₂ is supplied into the decompression chamber 6 from the gas tank 20 to reduce the pressure P2 in the decompression chamber 6 to 0.01 MPa <P2 ≦ The state of 0.5 MPa is used to promote the penetration of tempering chocolate. Then, the excess tempering chocolate accumulated in the decompression chamber 6 is discharged by the recovery pump 10 and returned to the tempering chocolate sub tank 4 for reuse.

  Next, the lid of the decompression chamber 6 is opened and the basket 19 is taken out, and the potato chips 2 infiltrated with tempering chocolate are taken out from the basket 19 and placed on the shaking device 11. The basket 19 can be taken out and the potato chips 2 can be placed manually, or can be automatically processed by a robot device or the like.

  In the shaking device 11, the potato chips 2 are vibrated while being vibrated by the vibration conveyor 13, and the high-pressure air of a predetermined temperature is blown from the air blower 14, so that the extra potato chips 2 adhered to the potato chips 2. Remove the tempering chocolate. The tempering chocolate that has been wiped off is collected in the tempering chocolate collection tank 15 disposed on the lower side, and is sent back to the tempering chocolate sub-tank 4 by the collection pump 16 for reuse.

  The potato chips 2 from which excess tempering chocolate has been shaken off are sent to the cooling device 12. The cooling device 12 blows cold air toward the potato chips 2 to cool and solidify the tempering chocolate that has penetrated into the internal gaps of the potato chips 2 and the tempering chocolate adhering to the surface of the potato chips 2 and send them to the subsequent product packaging process. . As described above, potato chips soaked with tempering chocolate can be produced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Potato chip feeder 2 Potato chips 3 Tempering chocolate tank 4 Tempering chocolate sub tank 5 Vacuum infiltration device 6 Depressurization chamber 7 Feeding pump 9 Tempering chocolate supply port 10 Collection pump 11 Shaking device 12 Cooling device 13 Vibrating conveyor 14 Air blower 15 Tempering Chocolate recovery tank 16 Recovery pump 17 Cooling chamber 18 Belt conveyor 19 Basket 20 Gas tank (filled with air, nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide gas or any one of these)

Claims (3)

  A method for producing a confectionery in which tempering chocolate is soaked in potato chips. First, only potato chips are placed in a vacuum infiltration device and deaerated under a reduced pressure of pressure P1 (0.051 MPa ≦ P1 ≦ 0.1 MPa). However, the potato chips were immersed in a liquid tempering chocolate under the deaerated state, and then a gas was injected into the vacuum infiltration device to obtain a pressure P2 (0.01 MPa <P2 ≦ 0.5 MPa) To make the potato chips impregnated with the tempering chocolate. The method for producing a confectionery according to claim 1, wherein the gas is air, N _2, CO _2, or a mixed gas thereof. A device for producing confectionery in which tempering chocolate is soaked in potato chips, having a potato chip supply means, a tempering chocolate supply means, and a decompression chamber for reducing pressure to P1 (0.051 MPa ≦ P1 ≦ 0.1 MPa) A vacuum osmosis device and a gas tank connected to the vacuum osmosis device and filled with air, N ₂ or CO ₂ or a mixed gas thereof, the vacuum osmosis device being placed in the decompression chamber from the potato chips supply means While the introduced potato chips are depressurized and degassed to a pressure P1 (0.051 MPa ≦ P1 ≦ 0.1 MPa), tempering chocolate is supplied into the vacuum infiltration device to remove the potato chips in a degassed state. after immersion in the chocolate, the air in the vacuum chamber, N ₂ or C ₂ or by injecting one of these mixed gas to the state of the pressure P2 (0.01MPa <P2 ≦ 0.5MPa) , characterized in that impregnated the tempering chocolate to the potato chips manufacturing a confectionery Manufacturing equipment.

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